The wedding march

Shown here are Capt. and Mrs. Charles Levine. Mrs. Levine is my very good friend Ginger, who is so in love with her husband that she married him twice, just for fun. I had the good fortune of attending the first wedding, alongside Eagle River in the fall of 2006, shortly before Capt. Levine left for a tour in Iraq. I believe a tour in Afghanistan is in Capt. Levine’s future. Here they are shown at their wedding reception in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday. I regret that I could not be there.

Charles is the most patriotic person under age 50 who I know. He loves and believes in the Army too. You don’t meet many people like that these days of anger and cynicism. He is an inspiring person, and I am glad to know him. Charles is also a former math teacher and actor in community theatre. He was raised by a couple of hippies, he likes to say. Sometimes, I think Charles should quit the Army and go be a headmaster at a wayward boy’s school, beacuse if anyhing were to happen to Charles, it would be a huge loss not only for his family but for our country. He is a natural born leader. Other times, I think that we need men like Charles in the Army right now.

Ginger and I grew up together in Round Lake Beach, Ill., and we attended the College of Lake County together. Ginger has a long memory and remembers all kinds of embarrassing moments in my life, including the time I had a crush on Matt Christiansen, who wanted nothing to do with me, and the time I drank too much and threw up in her Ford Escort. She made me clean it up the next day, even though my head was pounding and my stomach was churning.